Student Loan Companies Summary
The student loan industry is composed of firms that issue and service student loans. Despite contributing fairly little compared to the rest of the financial, insurance and real estate sector, student loan debt has become a contentious topic in recent years and was a key point of debate during the 2020 presidential election cycle. Student loan debt totalled $1.6 trillion in 2019, and some have declared the matter a national crisis that has left Americans struggling and widened the racial wealth gap. This has in turn led lawmakers to put the industry under heavy scrutiny amid reports of exploitation.
The student loan industry contributed around $615,000 in 2020 to political campaigns compared to approximately $677,000 in 2018 and about $1.1 million in 2016, marking a significant decrease in spending over the last few years. While the industry historically favored Republicans, donations were split evenly between the two major political parties in 2020. About 51 percent of contributions came from PACs while 49 percent came from individual donors. [Read more Background]
Other categories and industries in the Finance/Insur/RealEst sector:
- • Accountants
- • Commercial Banks
- • Credit Unions
- • Finance/Credit Companies
- • Hedge Funds
- • Insurance
- • Misc Finance
- • Mortgage bankers and brokers
- • Payday lenders
- • Private Equity & Investment Firms
- • Real Estate
- • Savings & Loans
- • Securities & Investment
- • Student loan companies
- • Venture capital
Or select another sector from an alphabetical list.
Top Contributors, 2023-2024
| Contributor | Total | To Dems | To Repubs | To liberal groups | To conservative groups | To nonpartisan groups |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Navient Corp | $130,829 | $60,170 | $70,659 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Nelnet Inc | $104,982 | $37,534 | $62,386 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Sallie Mae | $27,911 | $14,315 | $4,580 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Educational Funding Of The South | $7,739 | $0 | $7,739 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Leans Democrat Leans Republican Leans Liberal Leans Conservative On the fence | ||||||
Contribution Trends, 1990-2024
Annual Lobbying Totals, 1998-2024
Top Lobbying Clients, 2023
| Client/Parent Organization | Total |
|---|---|
| SLM Corp | $1,410,000 |
| Navient Corp | $1,145,000 |
| NelNet Inc | $450,000 |
| Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority | $200,000 |
| College Avenue Student Loans | $200,000 |
| Trellis Co | $120,000 |
| Education Finance Council | $80,469 |
| Massachusetts Educational Finance Authority | $80,000 |
| Leif Technologies | $80,000 |
| Iowa Student Loan | $66,000 |
| US Education Servicing LLC | $40,000 |
| New Hampshire Higher Education Loan Corp | $40,000 |
| Natl Assn of Student Financial Aid Admin | $0 |
Party Split of Recipients, by Election Cycle, 1990-2024
Top Recipients, 2023-2024
| Candidate | Chamber | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Sinema, Kyrsten (I-AZ) | Senate | $13,000 |
| Flood, Mike (R-NE) | House | $11,600 |
| Foxx, Virginia (R-NC) | House | $7,000 |
| Tester, Jon (D-MT) | Senate | $5,700 |
| Rochester, Lisa Blunt (D-DE) | House | $5,100 |
Average Contributions to Members of Congress, 1990-2024
These charts display average contributions to all Members of Congress, including the campaign committees of sitting members who run for president. The surge in giving seen during the 2008 cycle for the Senate reflects contributions given to the presidential campaign committees of Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.
All the numbers on this page are for the 2024 election cycle and based on Federal Election Commission data released on March 06, 2024.
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